CASE STUDY

ON
ASTRO AIRLINES
NAME: SAKSHI ARORA
PDGM 17-19
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 5TH APRIL
2019
SUBMITTED TO :DR ARUN TYAGI
Signature: sakshi

CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

Q1? Describe Burton’s leadership behaviour?

1) His leadership behaviour provides an outlook of growth and inclusion for
employees to develop self-management practices, and take ownership for their
actions
2) His leadership behaviour provides a straight forward approach to airline
service which encompasses scheduling, ticketing, broad and complete tasks
with responsibilities. He also emphasizes fairness and teamwork.

3) His leadership behaviour provides a personal approach to connect and

express his vision

4) His leadership behaviour provides passing leadership abilities and ownership

to employees for self-management. Inclusion allowed for input and

development of his vision .

Q2? Was Burton a charismatic leader in the company at this time?
Burton was a charismatic leader and was viewed by his employees with high
regards. His speaking abilities allowed for a clear precise message to be
accepted, and that captured full attention of the employees. Investors felt
comfortable and were confident in providing capital in assisting hi accomplish
his vision. The rapid growth was evident of his abilities along with pilots
receiving shares instead of compensation for their service.

Burton was certainly a charismatic leader. Like any other charismatic leader he
had the ability to communicate and behave in ways that reach
followers on a basic, emotional way, to inspire and motivate. He was
perceived as someone with an evangelical capability to strike an emotional
chord with his listeners. He was highly capable of install his ideas,
philosophy and vision into the minds of h i s l i s t e n e r s a n d a l s o
r e i n f o r c e i t . He h a d c r e a t e d a n e n v i r o n me n t wh e r e everyone felt
energetic and empowered.
It was his ability to attract others with his ideas that he expressed
through
hisi mp e c c a b l e o r a t o r y s k i l l s t h a t i n s p i r e d h i s e mp l o ye e s . H e i n s
p i r e d a s h a r e d v i si o n , b e l i e v e d i n d e l e g a t i o n o f a u t h o r i t y . Hi s c
o mmi t me n t t o b ui l d i n g a n d sustaining team was undeterred. They
had full belief in him and it was further reinforced when the company was
able to achieve success in very short span
of time.H i s m a j o r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w e r e h i s p o w e r f u l a b i l i t y
o f c o m m u n i c a t i n g a c o mp e l l i n g v i s i o n o f t h e f u t u r e , h e p a s s i o
n a t e l y b e l i e v e d i n h i s v i s i o n , h e relentlessly promoted his beliefs with
boundless energy, he propounded created ideas, and he inspired extraordinary
performance in followers. Burton was very p a s s i o n a t e a b o u t h i s
v i s i o n t h a t h e c ou l d ma k e p r o f i t i f h e c o u l d ma k e a i r t transport
affordable to the people who could not afford it. He always advocated his
beliefs and reinforced it in his speeches. His speeches were
emotionally arousing and they weaved the employees together to achieve
a common goal. A charismatic leader has a capability to link people by a
common goal, he makes them forget their individual needs and objectives,
sacrifice their interest to work for the achievement of a common goal shown by
the leader. Burton’s ideas
wereh i g h l y c r e a t i v e ; h i s v i s i o n o f a i r t r a n s p o r t f o r a l l w a s
i n d e e d g r e a t . H i s management skills were equally creative, his
ability to reduce cost by onsite ticketing, thin layer of hierarchy, and
independent working were highly creative. It was due to his charisma that the
employees felt highly motivated despite the fact that they got lesser salary than
the industry average; they worked more and had no assistants. Burton had the
confidence of his team despite getting salaries which were
lowert h a n n o r m a l f o r t h e a i r l i n e i n d u s t r y t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t
t o c o m p a n y w a s undeterred. It was his charisma that within three years of
operation the company g r e w f r o m a f e w h u n d r e d e mp l o ye e s wi t h
t h r e e p l a n e s t o mo r e t h a n 3 ,0 0 0 employees with 22 planes servicing 20
cities
Q3) What dysfunctional aspects of charismatic leadership were
displayed by Burton?

M a n y t i me s t h e c h a r i s ma t i c l e a d e r s b e c o me me g a l oma n i a c s a n d
t h e y s t a r t believing that it is only because of them that the team has seen
success. They become too much obsessed with their ability that they become
highly
arrogant. Th e y s t a r t d i s r e s p e c t i n g o t h e r s a n d b e c o mi n g r i g i d o n t
h e i r b e l i e f s . B u r t o n displayed similar characteristics. After being able to
gain success in a short span of time, Burton thought he had a Midas touch and
whatever he does is destined
t o b r i n g f o r t u n e . E v e n t u a l l y h e b e c a me t h e v i c t i m o f h i s
o wn s u c c e s s .

Hebecomeevery stubborn. His equations with his team ch

a n g e d . T h e s a m e employees who respected him were dissatisfied with
him and even his belief in his own employees deterred in time. The tiff he had
with the company president stands as a proof of his deterring trust on his own
team. His employees
beganq u e s t i o n i n g B u r t o n ’s s i n c e r i ty a n d a c c u s e d h im o f b e i n g a
ma n i p u l a t o r . Hi s unwillingness to hire a President had huge implications
and his over-confidence made his company suffer. Though viewed as a
charismatic leader initially he
wass t a r t e d t o b e s e e n a s a n a r r o g a n t a n d a u t h o r i t a r i a n l e a d e r . Hi
s i n a b i l i t y t o understand others feeling led his highly energetic team of
Staffs to fall apart. His reluctance to understand the need of his employees and
only putting his diktat ultimately led to the downfall of the company.

When the airlines industry started to change Burton ignor

e d a s h e w a s blindfolded by his over confidence and
successful past. As with charismatic
leadership styles people are more dependent on their leaders.
Astro airlines followed the same fate; the employees could do nothing
to help the company come out of the trouble. They only blamed Burton. In
later years Burton became more of an authoritarian leader, too impulsive as his
quick changes in strategies and vision suggest. He showed lesser accountability
and was on a firing spree .He fired people who confronted him and who questioned his
motives.His belief that he is infallible, led the team into an abyss. His excessive
self-belief and his self-absorption or need for admiration led to his team
to question his leadership